The Question of Christian Forgiveness

cf. Matthew 6:14-15 and Selected Scripture

By Doug Heck

Today we come to explore the Question of Christian Forgiveness . Being as broad as it is, containing many statements in various contexts and each adding to the whole, we approach this seeking the Spirit of God to give us clarity. This morning my task is to set the stage for this evening's position papers by Dennis Gundersen, Kevin Johnson and John Bower, along with time we might have for a Q/A session tonight. There are some minor difference in how we view this doctrine, most of which in my opinion, relates to how we are selecting to word things or how much emphasis we might give to one point.

Obviously I respect Dennis, Kevin and John with immense love. I will come tonight as their student, as I hope you will, to listen with careful attention to their ideas on this subject. I'm not in the least interested in winning some kind of sword drill or theological debate but I am interested that I would glean from the day a better understanding - junking ideas I might have that are not in harmony with the teaching of Scripture and revising opinions to lend better clarity. This is not a debate but position statements, given for the purpose of giving clarity to the teaching of the Bible on this subject. So my text this morning is where we left off when last we met. Jesus in teaching us how to pray, reminded us to make the petition, "And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. (cf. Matt. 6:12), and then He explained it…

For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. (cf. Matt. 6:12, 14-15)

It is interesting that the only one of the six petitions in the Lord's Prayer, which Jesus gives a footnote on is His fifth, i.e., "forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors." This gives us a hint that this doctrine of Christian forgiveness is extensive and complicated, needs careful consideration and special explanation. It is not an easy teaching, either practically or conceptually.

As matter of fact, although the concept of God's forgiveness is obviously a major doctrine in OT Jewish thinking, it might be surprising to learn that the phrase "as we forgive those who are indebted to us," was almost completely foreign to both heathen religions and OT Jewish practice. Hence, Jesus' explanation.

The fact that this alone of all the topics of the prayer is taken up a second time, and amplified by stating it both positively and negatively, ought to impress upon us very deeply the importance of forgiving if we wish to be forgiven. (Broadus, p. 139)

The primary Greek term "forgive" (i.e., aphiami ) occurs 142 times in the NT and it means to send [sin] away from; to acquit to let go; to remove guilt or obligation of punishment. As mentioned, it originally came from the figure of a prisoner being released from prison or a debtor being released from his debt. It could refer to an eternal forgiveness or to a temporal forgiveness, i.e., the withholding of immediate judgment (e.g., Jesus' prayer, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do," was a request for God not to immediately destroy them. cf. Luke 23:34). This forgiveness is a temporary suspension of punishment.

By the way, this is basically how I view Christ's death on behalf of the whole world, i.e., that He died to make possible that God would not call the sinner into immediate judgment when he sinned. Without the death of Christ, the justice of God and the holiness of God would have demanded the immediate execution of judgment upon the sinner. The issue is not eternal forgiveness but a temporal postponement or suspension of judgment.

Jay Adams defines Christian forgiveness a little broader, adding an element that is not actually contained in the concept. He writes…

…when you forgive another, you declare that you are canceling his debt, removing his guilt, [then he adds an element not inherent in the concept of forgiveness] and promising that you will never bring up his guilt, and promising that you will never again bring up his offenses to use against him. (Adams, p. 82)

Unfortunately today the English word offers a wrong sense, i.e. to ignore sin, to overlook sin or to have good feelings about the person who sins. This is not forgiveness but compromising tolerance; it is the fear of man that brings a snare; and it has made many of the present generation of professing Christians cowards and turncoats to the cause of Christ's banner against evil. They think when they ignore sin or overlook it, that they are being loving, when in reality they are unloving. To tolerate or ignore sin is not forgiveness and many times results in the ending of relationships or the shifting a close friendships to surface friendships. Worse it allows a professing believer to continue in sin, with all the destructive elements of that pursuit, introduces leaven into the local church, which begins to grow and weakens the resolve of the whole congregation.

That is not to say there isn't a sense of truth here, as Christian love does "cover a multitude of sins," in the sense that many sins are simply minor issues of human weakness. This truth is supported by various Biblical examples, illustrating a series of direct statements…

Prov 10:12 Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins. [Obviously this passage doesn't tell us how love does this. It doesn't explain the basis of which love covers all sins or the conditions, but like the passages I'm reading next - sets forth the ministry of love, i.e., a desire to conceal all sins, as far is one is righteously able to do that]

Prov 12:16 A fool's wrath is presently known: but a prudent man covereth shame.

Prov 17:9 He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter separateth friends. [by the way each of these three passages commend covering for sins, which goes back to a literal act of two of the sons of Noah, who covered the nakedness of their drunken father, in contrast to the act of Ham, who repeated the sins of Noah in the sense that he shared with his brothers the physical condition of his father. cf. Genesis 9]

1 Cor. 13:5, 7 [love] thinketh no evil [i.e., doesn't keep records of evil]…Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

James 5:20 Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide [this is similar to the covering metaphor] a multitude of sins.

1 Pet 4:8 And above all things have fervent love for one another, for "love will cover a multitude of sins."

Yes, a multitude of sins are indeed covered by love but that doesn't mean that they are just ignored or tolerated. No, love seeks the good of the sinner enough to rescue them from their sin by confrontation or admonition. In the Church of Christ, we have a clear unequivocal command to love others enough to boldly appeal to them to leave their sin. Jesus taught this, the Apostle Paul repeated it and the New Testament church practiced it. As matter of fact the very same Gospel (i.e, Matthew) records our Lord's command and also His Sermon on the Mount explanation of the fifth petition.

Matt 18:15-20 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. [the "hearing" would imply that he confessed and asked forgiveness of his/her sins, in agreement with God that he was wrong] But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican. Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye [the pronoun refers to the Apostles and perhaps by extension leaders in the local church, involved in the third and forth stages of church discipline] shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

Broadly speaking there are three main view on the Question of Christian Forgiveness …

Christian Forgiveness is 
Always Conditional

Jay Adams teaches that Christian forgiveness is always conditional, i.e., that we are only to forgive when confession and repentance has been clearly expresses by the offending person. If repentance doesn't take place (and confession) then we are not to forgive.

This is a minority view, which has more followers that Jay Adams, John Bower, and Kevin Johnson. As matter of fact for much of my own ministry I held to this position, at least up until the late `80's, so I have great respect for those who hold this view and consider it certainly a Biblically tenable position, i.e., a view that is possible and has much to commend by way of rational argument and reclaiming of much neglected truth, but there is an even better view.

By the way, I wish I could tell you I changed my mind completely due to the closer study of Scripture but actually, a haunting question would often break through my reasoning - that regardless of the fact that I viewed Christian forgiveness as conditional, I myself forgave everyone who wronged me and or wronged others, in my heart. That didn't mean I didn't try to bring the offenders to repentance of their sins but I just found myself truly forgiving of all others in my heart. And I didn't find this a difficulty at all but a normal reaction, as I meditated on my own sins forgiven graciously by God.

This view is built primarily on Jesus command: "Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him." (cf. Luke 17:3) Clearly, this passage suggests a conditional forgiveness.

But whatever else you do, remember: forgiveness is an important condition to fellowship with the Heavenly Father. It is not an option. God commands it. Nor may we guess about how to forgive, whom to forgive, when to forgive, how often to forgive. God has not left us without explicit information. (Adams, p. 4)

Refusal to forgive is a decision for vengeance. It is taking vengeance into your own hands. (Adams. p. 25)

Jay Adams does make an outstanding statement, which I think is valuable in our discussion.

Yes, there is a truth that is greatly misunderstood and misrepresented. It is found in one passage that (rightly) deals with the problem of forgiving when the one to be forgiven is either not present or unwilling to confess sin. It is found in Mark 11:25, "And when you stand praying, if you have something against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven also may forgive you your trespasses." [Adams then explains this passage]…in this verse Jesus is concerned about the attitude of the believer as he stands before God in prayer. If he is inwardly unwilling to forgive his brother or sister, he cannot expect forgiveness from the Father [i.e., relational]. This preceding the promise (or granting) of forgiveness to another, one must prepare to lift that guilt so that the promise he makes, even if against his feelings, will be sincerely meant and kept. He may not simply repeat a formula; he must forgive from his heart. Like his Heavenly Father, by prayer, the believer seeks to become "ready to forgive" (Ps. 86:5 MLB). That is the meaning of Mark 11:25. (Adams. P. 30)

Jay Adams mentions his fear about a believer ignoring a conditional forgiveness. And I think he has a point.

If forgiveness were unconditional, then this entire process of [church] discipline would be impossible. It is my contention that the very existence of such a program as this requires us to believe that forgiveness is conditional. (Adams, p. 33)

Here is really the crux of the question. Adams is clearly correct, for the NT especially, clearly commands believers to confront sin and break fellowship with anyone who professes to be a Christian but retains their sins. Its not only Jesus' teaching as we read from Matthew 18 but as Paul commanded…

And if anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person and do not keep company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet do not count him as an enemy, but admonish [Greek, noutheteo] him as a brother. (cf. 2 Thess. 3:14-15)

But does this demand that all Christian forgiveness is conditioned or waits until confession and repentance take place. No, in my humble opinion, that goes too far. The only way to make this view work is to set up Luke 17:3 as a governing verse and interpret all other NT passages that speak of Christian forgiveness in light of this passage. But this violates a basic principle of interpretation or hermeneutics, i.e., that no one passage can govern another, which is given in a different context, let along a number of passages. The Gospel writers recorded the actual words of Jesus, working independent of each other.

For example, the Church of Christ takes Acts 2:38 as their governing passage for teaching that water baptism is a condition of salvation. "And Peter said to them, Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for (Greek, eis) the forgiveness of sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." They consider eis a purpose clause. They fail to notice, that in Peter's next sermon he doesn't mention water baptism as a condition at all (cf. Acts 3:19) or Paul (cf. Rom. 10:9-10) or John (cf. John 3:14-18) or Luke (cf. Acts 16:31).

Forgiveness is 
Always Unconditional

This is also a minority view as far as historical Christianity is concerned, although it could be argued that it is becoming the majority view in our pluralistic and tolerant culture. This view fails to deal with Jesus' command in Matthew 18:15-20 that demands that we confront the offender and pursue his/her repentance through means of discipline; and this view reasons away Luke 17:3, suggesting that because it is the only verse in the OT or NT that directly mentions a condition for Christian forgiveness, that it must be understood in light of the majority of texts that don't mention a condition. This also is a hermeneutics error. Just like taking one verse and forcing all other passages that speak to that issue, to conform to that single verse; neither is it correct to take a series of passages on a topic and press into one verse, meaning not there.

Usually this view is built on an overemphasis of Jesus' gracious forgiveness with the woman caught in adultery.

Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. "Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?" This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear. So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first." And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?" She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more." (cf. John 8:1-11)

Here is a sin, worthy in Scripture of the sentence of death but it is unconditionally forgiven by Jesus, so it is argued that this is how all Christians should unconditionally forgive.

Because I know of too few who hold this view and none who are not either liberal in their theology or actually secular in psychology, I'll not take the time to explain or refute this view. I think everyone here understand that a complicated doctrine like Christian forgiveness cannot be gleaned from one such passage, where Christ Himself remitted the guilt of an adulterous woman. This is to say nothing of the fact that this paragraph has questionable textual authenticity.

Forgiveness is 
Both Unconditional and Conditional

I argue that this has been the majority view, not only in the history of Christianity but among Bible scholars today. I suggest this is the view of the vast majority of conservative Pastors and theologians, who hold to the authority and sufficiency of Scripture. The Reformers (with the possible exception of John Calvin) and the Puritans, all taught this, as well as I can determine. The view recognizes the truth that Luke 17:3 does indeed suggest a conditional forgiveness but also recognizes a series of other passages where no such condition is stated or implied.

Mark 11:25-26 And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything [i.e., this includes all kinds of sin] against anyone[i.e., this includes all kinds of people], forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses." [this passage is very close to our Matthew 6:14-15 passage, which we will explain in a few minutes.]

Luke 6:36-37 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven.

Eph 4:31-32 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

Col 3:12-15 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.

Pastor John MacArthur supports this view, in his book, The Freedom and Power of Forgiveness, rebutting his friend Jay Adams conditional view. He writes…

While it is often true that forgiveness involves a two-way transaction, it is not true of all forgiveness. There are times when forgiveness should be unconditional and unilateral, and there are other times when forgiveness must be withheld until the offender repents. (MacArthur, p. 119)

My position on the complicated doctrine of Christian forgiveness, that when taking the whole of Scripture into account and letting each passage speak in its own context can be reduced to five statements:

1. Christian Forgiveness at Times is Unconditional, as the above passages teach. In this sense the believer actually personally forgives from the heart all sins. As far as I can determine, this is more than being willing to forgive. It is an actual personal forgiveness.

[Jay Adams himself comes close to this view when he writes in his excellent booklet Ready to Restore: the Layman's Guide to Christian Counseling (1981)… "Forgiveness is granted to another only when he seeks it, but internally one forgives (i.e., he no longer holds on to the offense as something that could turn to bitterness) in his heart in prayer (Mark 11:25)." (p. 84)

Actually I'm convinced that Jesus here was building upon one of the more central commands in the OT…

"'Do not go about spreading slander among your people. "'Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor's life. I am the LORD. "'Do not hate your brother in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in his guilt. "'Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD. (cf. Lev. 19:16-18; NIV)

Not only the passage I've already read but examples, such as Joseph's gracious forgiveness of his brethren, long before they confessed and repented of their sins. Joseph understood that although they "meant it for evil, God meant it for good." (cf. Gen. 50:4-5) Or David's wise long-suffering forgiveness of Shimei in 2 Samuel 16, where again he recognized that God was using the taunting hatred of Shimei for his own good.

The definitive passage on this point, beyond Matthew 6:12, 14-15 and Mark 11:25, is Paul's teaching to the Ephesian believers…

Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving [i.e., charizomai] one another, just as God in Christ forgave you. Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. (cf. Eph. 4:31-5:2)

As I've mentioned on several occasions, the term translated as "forgive" comes from the same word we get "grace" which is unmerited favor. Charizomai is a gratuitous, underserved and completely unconditional forgiveness, which is how God forgives. To try to read the idea that the term contains a condition or that the condition is presupposed, is to turn the passage on its end and suggest an opposite meaning that the intended meaning of the human author. The whole Epistle to the Ephesians is especially unique as it sets for the profound gracious work of the Triune Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Christ didn't love us or give Himself for us as an offering and sacrifice to God, because He foresaw that we would confess our sins and repent - no, we confess our sins and repent because He sovereignly and graciously regenerated and redeemed us. The fact is, you and I are not smart enough to realize our sins and confess them to the Lord - it is the Spirit of God who germinates faith within us, following His sovereign and gracious act of regeneration. Note: the term charizomai is used 11 times in the NT, mostly by Paul as a synonym of aphiami, when he wants to emphasize its gracious nature.

2. Christian Forgiveness at Times is Conditional, as Luke 17:3 and Matthew 18:15-32 clearly teach. cf. 1 Cor. 5:1-13. That is, some sins demand confrontation by other believers privately or in a small group of 3-4, where repeated attempts are made in humility to restore the professing believer and bring him/her to confession and repentance. When confession and repentance happen, there is a full relational forgiveness along with the inner personal forgiveness that hopefully has taken place.

3. Christian Forgiveness is Patterned after God's Gracious Forgiveness, which is both judicially gracious and relationally contingent. As a free act of grace He saves us, not due to human merit of any kind - including our confession and repentance of specific acts of sin. The initial bath of regeneration, which includes a thorough judicial cleansing, is a sovereign and gracious work of God.

But when the kindness of God our Savior and [His] love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to [the] hope of eternal life. (cf. Titus 3:4-7; NAU)

One of the deans of The Master's Seminary, Irv Busenitz, in his Divine Forgiveness: Conditions and Limitations, (ThD thesis for Grace Theological Seminary, 1980) help summarize a careful theological distinction.

It must be concluded therefore, that confession is not a condition for the obtaining of judicial forgiveness. It is not a condition which must be fulfilled in order to be saved. (p. 165) Confession and repentance will accompany genuine belief and forgiveness, but they are not conditions of forgiveness. Likewise, a spirit of forgiveness and baptism are not conditions of forgiveness but evidences of it. (p. 1) While repentance and confession will accompany genuine faith, this writer understands the Scriptures to teach that they are not conditions which must be met in order to obtain forgiveness. Rather, they are aspects which accompany the reception of Christ through faith and which continue to exhibit the genuineness of that faith, playing an important role in the believer's sanctification. A forgiving spirit toward others likewise reflects and evidences the reality of a transformed life. An unforgiving spirit, on the other hand, is indicative of a heart that has not been forgiven by God. (p. 175)

There are a number of examples in the OT and NT where forgiveness or pardon of sins is without any hint of confession and repentance. I simply limit our discussion to…

So He got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own city. Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you." And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, "This Man blasphemes!" But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, "Why do you think evil in your hearts? "For which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise and walk'? "But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins"-- then He said to the paralytic, "Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house." And he arose and departed to his house. (cf. Matt. 9:1-7)

The ongoing cleansing of sanctification, is contingent on human confession and repentance, to restore the person in full relational forgiveness.

4. Christian Forgiveness Most Often is Extended by Forbearing Love, dealing with issues that don't cause scandal or strain the ongoing fellowship of God's people. As MacArthur teaches, "This, then, is the governing rule: unless an offense requires confrontation, unconditional, unilateral forgiveness should cover the transgression." On this point MacArthur and Adams agrees…

God has provided a means for handling the multitude of offenses that we commit against one another. But it is not forgiveness. In 1 Peter 4:8, quoting Proverbs 17:9, Peter points out that those who love one another "cover a multitude of sins" in love. It is only those sins which throw the covers off that must be dealt with by the Luke 17 and Matthew 18 processes: those offenses that break the fellowship and lead to an unreconciled condition require forgiveness. Otherwise, we simply learn to overlook a multitude of offenses against ourselves, recognizing that we are all sinners and that we must gratefully thank others for covering our sins as well. (Adams, p. 34)

5. Christian Forgiveness is a Mark of Genuine Faith, in the sense that Christ's forgiven ones will themselves be forgiving ones. To refuse to forgive personally from the heart every offense or sin, gives proof ultimately that the professing believer's faith is spurious.

This is how I see Matthew 6:14-15 and Mark 11:25, i.e., that if we forgive, God forgives us; if we do not forgive, God does not forgive us. I realize my interpretation departs from many excellent opinions but the two Gospel passages cannot refer only to a relational forgiveness, although it does contain that also, for the simply reason that the original audience listening to Jesus making these statements would not have a context to distinguish between a judicial and relational forgiveness. Those are theological distinctions developed further in the progress of revelation and not during the days Christ taught. The original listeners would receive these words without those theological distinctions that are implied later in redemptive development; they would receive them at face value, i.e., that a citizen of Christ's kingdom, because he has been forgiven will forgive and not to do so will mean they have never been loosed from their own sins.

So I take the passage in its clear, normal sense, without reading theological implications or development into it, just like those listening to Jesus give His Sermon on the Mount would. Our forgiveness of others is just that imperative. It is a mark of genuine faith, for those who are actually graciously forgiven by God will themselves graciously forgive others; those who profess Christ but cannot forgive others in their heart, manifest that they have never had true saving faith.

For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. (cf. Matt. 6:14-15)

This is how Alfred Plummer in his work An Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel According to S. Matthew, views this passage.

The "as" must not be pressed to mean that the fullness of the Father's forgiveness is to be measured by the extent to which we forgive our fellow-men. No such hard bargaining is to be understood. What is meant is that we ourselves must cultivate a spirit of forgiveness toward those who seem to have wronged us, before we venture to claim forgiveness for ourselves. (p. 107)

As a side note, could it be that we have misread Jesus' parable of the unjust steward? I'm unsure here and I think we need more careful study of Jesus' parable. Indeed, unfortunately we might have interpreted it through our pre-un derstanding of eternal security, but the conclusion of it might speak rather to the situation of a warning about hell.

Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. "Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. "And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. "But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. "The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, 'Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.' "Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt. "But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, 'Pay me what you owe!' "So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.' "And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. "So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. "Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. 'Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?' "And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. "So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses." (cF. Matt. 18:21-35; NKJ)

Nowhere else are true believers said to be handed over to torturers. And notice that the forgiveness is from the heart. And by the way, notice that neither of the servants confessed their sins, let alone repented for their indebtedness - they ask for mercy and claim they will repay but don't confess or repent of a delinquent debt!

To summarize, Christian personal forgiveness is always to take place in the heart regardless of the sin or a lack of confession and repentance. This protects us in a practical way of allowing a grudge, bitterness and resentment to grow, which will become a form of hatred or anger; it also will demand that we reflect first on our own sins and the gracious forgiveness of God toward us, as undeserving sinners. But a Christian's love for the sinning believer will move him to pursue his/her repentance, securing a full relational forgiveness -either through the process of confrontation known as discipline (cf. Matthew 18:15-20) or after that, when confession and repentance take place.

As I mentioned, I welcome correction here and I'm looking forward to my three friends sharing this evening. I hope as a local church we can help each other clarify what the Bible teaches, as this subject has profound implications. As a church we want to be known as a forgiving people, long-suffering, forbearing, merciful and loving, within the Biblical parameters; and we also want to be known as a church standing in the trenches fighting against sin, through humble confrontation and discipline.

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